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Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016
|- | colspan="4" | |- | colspan="5" | | colspan="4" | |- | |} The 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries and caucuses were a series of electoral contests organized by the Democratic Party to select the unknown number of delegates to the Democratic National Convention held in July 2016 and determine the nominee for President of the United States in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The elections took place within all fifty U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories and occurred between January and June 2016. The convention also approved the Party's platform and vice-presidential nominee. Stuart Hughes, sitting President at the time, announced he would not seek re-election in 2015 due to major scandals regarding the Uzbek Hostage Crisis. He later resigned to take care of the ill first lady, allowing Vice President and presidential candidate Selina Meyer to ascend to the presidency. A total of five major candidates entered the race starting in fall 2015, including Vice President and Maryland Senator Selina Meyer, Minnesota Governor Danny Chung, former Secretary of Defense George Maddox, former Major League Baseball Coach Joe Thornhill, and U.S. Representative from Nevada Owen Pierce. Pierce and Maddox withdrew from the race before the New Hampshire primary. In July 2016, the Democratic National Convention officially nominated Meyer for President and Maine Senator Tom James for Vice President. On November 8, 2016, the Electoral College ended in a tie and Meyer lost the popular vote. The presidency was awarded to Republican running mate and New Mexico Senator Laura Montez. Candidates Nominee * Selina Meyer, 45th President of the United States; ([[Selina Meyer presidential campaign, 2016|'Campaign']]) Withdrew during primaries * Danny Chung, Governor of Minnesota, withdrew Spring 2016; (Campaign) * Joe Thornhill, former Baseball Manager; withdrew Spring 2016; (Campaign) * George Maddox, former Secretary of Defense; withdrew January 25, 2016, endorsed Chung; (Campaign) * Owen Pierce, U.S. Representative from Nevada; withdrew January 23, 2016, endorsed Chung; (Campaign) Overview Timeline Background After the 2012 election, Stuart Hughes was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States and Selina Meyer was sworn in as the 47th Vice President of the United States. Following the 2014 midterms in which the Republicans gained overwhelming control of the House and Senate, Hughes' favorability began to dip. This is intensified with the Uzbek Hostage Crisis, in which Hughes knew one of the hostages was a spy, endangering the lives of the other hostages who weren't spies. After House Majority Leader Mary King and Meyer come to a resolution involving the budget, Hughes rejects the deal and shuts down the government to divert attention away from the Spy Scandal. During the shutdown, Hughes says in an interview that he blames Meyer's inability to make a deal with King for the government shutdown. The shutdown ends within weeks and the spy scandal becomes the focus of an episode of First Response with Janet Ryland, ''in which Meyer is bombarded with questions regarding who knew what when. Meyer takes credit for the spy scandal and apologizes on behalf of the administration, even though she had no knowledge of it. This "admission" benefits Meyer and she begins looking for potential donors for a presidential run in 2020. Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee is discussing impeachment against Hughes, and key party figures such as Roger Furlong and Andrew Doyle begin turning against him. Meyer decides she doesn't want to run with Hughes in 2016 for re-election, but will still run in 2020. However, Meyer learns that Hughes won't be running for re-election, and decides she wants to run. Meanwhile, Danny Chung announces he is setting up an exploratory committee for a potential 2016 run. After Secretary of Defense George Maddox announces his resignation, Hughes makes his statement public. On October 18, 2015, at a center in Maryland, Meyer announced her candidacy for President. Within weeks, she was out on the campaign trail, hitting places such as Palo Alto, California; Detroit, Michigan; and London, England. In November 2015, Joe Thornhill officially announced his candidacy. Fearing competition from Maddox, Meyer has dinner with Maddox to convince him not to run, only to learn that he wants to run and wants her to be his VP. Maddox became the third person to announce his candidacy. Shortly after, Chung announced his candidacy. At the first primary debate in New Hampshire, in December 2015, Thornhill was declared to be the winner of the debate, followed by Meyer, Chung, Owen Pierce, and Maddox. Early primaries ''See also: New Hampshire Democratic primary, 2016 The Iowa caucus was held on January 21, 2016, with Joe Thornhill coming in first place, stating at his victory rally, "I've worked my whole life and now it's time to make this country work! Let's take our shirts off and work up a sweat." Meyer, hoping for a win, began looking ahead to New Hampshire, a state she did very well with in 2012, and established a more "folksy" campaign style: Standing on top of a crate with a megaphone. After an interview with a reporter leads to Meyer on tape calling her donors idiots and saying the reporter "has his head so far up his ass he can wave out his mouth", Meyer is prepared to end her campaign, only to be informed that Hughes has resigned to take care of the first lady and her declining mental health. Meyer is transferred back to Washington D.C. where she is congratulated on becoming President and continues to campaign in New Hampshire. Around this time, Maddox concedes. Meyer, sworn in at a factory in New Hampshire, had high hopes for the upcoming primary, but was bitterly disappointed when she came in third, behind Chung and one percent behind Thornhill. After withdrawing their candidacies, Pierce and Maddox both endorse Chung. Subsequent primaries With Selina in the White House, Amy is tasked with being in charge of the rest of the primary campaign. In Joint Session, it is revealed that Chung and Thornhill are still in the race, but Thornhill is considering dropping out, as campaign manager Bill Ericsson joins the Meyer team. Not much is known about the primaries beyond this point. According to the Veep Season 4 intro, a newspaper headline reads "Meyer loses another primary". Somehow, still, she manages to get the party nomination at the National Convention in Los Angeles that July. It is said that Selina had a polling boost in Tehran, around May 2016, with her 10-Day World Peace Tour. It is possible she could've clinched the nomination around that point. Convention By the time the National Convention was held in Los Angeles that July, Meyer was able to secure the party nomination. Chung, Maddox, and Pierce all attended the Convention and (presumably) supported Meyer. When Andrew Doyle, the Vice President, announced he would step down, Meyer began looking for candidates, starting with Chung, who turned down the offer because he doesn't like how she operates. She then went to Maddox, who she turned down because she doesn't like his sense of humor. In a deleted scene, she went to Roger Furlong, who was turned down in seconds because of his obscene language. In the end, Meyer chose Maine Senator Tom James as running mate, who was extremely popular. See also * United States presidential election, 2016 * 2016 Democratic National Convention * Selina Meyer presidential campaign, 2016 * Danny Chung presidential campaign, 2016 * Joe Thornhill presidential campaign, 2016 Category:2016 Campaign Category:Elections